Short stories
by AERodos
Summary: These short stories will mainly be centered around Callen and Sam.
1. Chapter 1

**I've decided to start writing short stories for NCIS Los Angeles because of all the ideas running through my head. I've only recently started watching the show and started halfway through season 5 (I know *bows head in shame*). After season 5 I started at season one so I'm slowly catching up but it does mean that I do not yet know everything there is to know about the characters and their history so I apologise in advance for any mistakes. That being said, I'm probably going to write some slightly AU stories as I like to fantasise. I expect that these will mostly be Hanna family and Callen (+ some Joelle) related stories, though this might change as I go along.**

 **English is not my first language. I am fluent in it but I still find it hard to formulate my sentences the way I want them and I know that I make quite a few mistakes. Apologies in advance.  
**

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 **What happens after the last scene from Humbug. (S6 Ep11)  
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"How about we start with your first name?"

Callen chuckled softly. "That is a little bit complicated."

Joelle frowned and then looked up at him questioningly.

"Can I answer that over lunch?" She smiled and nodded in response.

"Oke I'll go tell the others. I'll be right back."

He looked back once and, at her encouraging nod, quickly skated to the other side of the ice to join the team. Sam and Michelle gave him knowing smiles and he couldn't help but grin back. He looked around at Deeks and Kensi who were having some sort of playful discussion about ice skating as he took of his skates. Their banter wasn't anything out of the ordinary but he could detect the very subtle change in their body language. He looked over at Sam and raised one eyebrow, Sam just shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know how he felt about this new development but he had more important things to think about right now.

"I'm going for lunch with Joelle. See you guys tomorrow."

Kamran and Michelle both gave him a big hug and he got a pat on the back from Sam.

"Good luck G!"

"I told you I was a foster child, I got into the system at a young age and was only left with the initial of my first name which is G. and my surname, which is Callen. I never found out my full name and therefore most people just call me Callen, except for Sam and Michelle, who call me G."

He looked at Joelle while he spoke and saw her expression turning serious, she frowned before answering.

"Shouldn't it be easy to find out your first name? If you figure out where you're from it should be registered." Her tone told him that she knew he must have tried but didn't understand why he hadn't found out.

"My parents were KGB and CIA agents, there is no information on them. Only several government agencies have access to my files, and even then only in certain situations. Most of our personal information isn't even in our files. There's nothing in Sam's file about being married or about Kamran or Aiden. It's not only to protect us but also those around us."

He sighed, breaking eye-contact to do a quick scan of his surroundings. Joelle's hand grabbed his on the table and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Is there anything more that you know about your biological family?"

"Only that my parents were murdered and that I had an older sister Amy who died."

"I'm sorry Callen." She told him sincerely.

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

They both looked down at their still joined hands for a while.

"Do you know where you are from? Where your parents were from?"

"My father was a KGB agent and therefore had to be Russian, my mother was American. I was born in Romania and came to America at a young age."

Joelle gave him a sad smile. "So you're a citizen of the world."

He grinned back, eager to leave the sombre mood behind. "You have no idea."

"Well, tell me then Mister G. Callen." She replied playfully.

"I've travelled to countries all over the world for cases and I speak several different languages. Sam and I were actually undercover in Mexico a couple of weeks ago."

"Who did you go undercover as?"

Callen snorted. "We went as food truck owners, that was a whole different experience. Usually we go as drug dealers or assassins, this was kind of a nice change."

"I can imagine you two driving around in a bright red food truck." Joelle told him jokingly. "So I guess you'd have to speak Spanish to go undercover in Mexico. What other languages do you speak?"

"Besides English and Spanish I'm fluent in Russian, Polish, German, Italian, Romanian and French. I can get away with the basics in Czech, Hebrew and Turkish."

Joelle's jaw dropped and Callen had to try hard not to laugh out loud at her expression.

"Oh my god! Callen that is absolutely crazy! Do you need to speak that many languages to do your job?"

"No, most agents barely speak any different languages but it helps immensely when doing undercover work. Kensi, Deeks, Sam and I are part of a special branch of NCIS, we specialise in undercover work. It helps that we all speak different languages. Sam is fluent in Korean and Arabic, he's a bit of an expert on Eastern religion, culture and languages."

He looked around the café again, taking his time before fixing his eyes on hers. "Because of our jobs we maintain a cover for our lives outside of work. It keeps the people around us safe and makes it possible for us to go undercover at work. Most of the other team members' family and friends don't even know what kind of work they really do. I'm sorry that I had to lie to you."

She looked back at him for several long moments before leaning in slowly and kissing him tentatively. When she sat back a small smile graced her lips and he knew that she'd decided to forgive him. He gave her a goofy smile and she laughed. Callen marvelled at the sound. She winked at him before changing the subject.

"I can't believe it. I'm learning so many new things today." The smile slowly disappeared as she turned serious again.

"I knew you were special the moment I met you and I have such admiration for law enforcement. I always thought it was mainly about motivation and strength of character. Just hearing you talk now I'm beginning to get an idea of the amount of skill that you need to do what you do."

Callen nodded. "It can be, those things are very important and you need them to go into law enforcement. But the best ones have something extra. Sam used to be a Navy SEAL, he's a great team player and loyal to a fault."

"A Navy SEAL? I just realised that I don't really know much about law enforcement or ranks or agencies. I know SEAL's are the real deal though."

"Yeah they are, Sam is one of the best Agents that I've ever worked with. Apparently 'Sam Hanna is who SEAL's want to be when they grow up'." He quoted Ray Turner with a grin.

"It's strange to think of Sam like that. He's a massive guy but such a teddy bear around the kids. I can't imagine him with a gun. So do you have any more special skills, besides speaking an abnormal amount of languages?"

"They call people like me a 'legend' which means I can turn into anyone I want, not just act but really become someone else. I also work well on my own, which can be a blessing and a curse."

She took this in with a serious expression. He saw her make the decision to leave that information to think about some other time. Instead she asked him about NCIS.

"What is NCIS exactly?"

"It stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service. We handle all the cases related to the US Navy and Marine Corps."

"Have you always worked for NCIS?"

"No, I've also worked for the DEA, CIA and FBI."

Joelle looked down at their hands, taking a deep breath before looking back into Callen's eyes.

"I'll need some time to get used to all of this. It scares me to know how much crime there is around here that we never even hear of and it scares me that you risk your life every day to stop it."

"I know, my life isn't safe and I can't guarantee that you will be safe but I am good at what I do and I will try and be more honest with you. But I can't promise that I can tell you where I am all the time, or that I can answer all of your questions. There are times that I have to leave on a mission all of a sudden and I usually don't know when I will be back."

"Let's agree that we'll both try our best. And try and be honest with each other."

"Deal" He could not have stopped the smile on his face, even if he'd wanted too.

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 **I hope you guys enjoyed this, please let me know. I've already written a couple more chapters which I'll post soon.**

 **Again, as I've done in my other stories, I promis that I'm not abandoning my other stories!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone, I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. Thanks to the anonymous reviewer who pointed out a mistake, I've corrected it. This chapter is another Callen/Joelle one. The next one will feature the Hanna family. Enjoy!**

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 **Callen tells Joelle about the team.**

Callen was sitting on the sofa in Joelle's living room, Joelle lying down with her head in his lap. He raked his finger through her hair gently as they both dozed after the big meal Joelle had cooked for them. She looked up at him after a while and he waited patiently for her to voice what was on her mind.

"Can you please tell me more about your family?"

He knew she meant the team. Michelle had approached Joelle at school and invited her over for a family barbeque on the Sunday before Christmas. Callen felt excited as well as apprehensive about finally getting her to meet the team.

"Oke, well you know a bit about Sam already. We've been partners for over eight years now. We're both field agents, the other two field agents on the team are Kensi and Deeks. They told me they spoke to you at the mall after you'd been taken hostage."

"Yeah, I remember seeing them at my house that day and at the ice rink too. They seemed nice. He gave me advice on what to buy you for Christmas." She told him sheepishly.

Callen raised his eyebrows at that and chuckled. "That's typical Deeks. And I'm sure Kensi tried to drag him away from you."

"So I guess they are partners too?"

"Yeah they are, they have been for about five years now. That's when Deeks came to work with us. He's a liaison from the LAPD but he's been a true member of our team for a long time. He's crazy, keeps Kensi on her toes and provides much needed comic relief for all of us. But he's one of the most hardworking and loyal guys I know."

"It's nice to hear that. He came across a bit childish to me and he didn't look like a cop at all. Which is stupid because what is a cop supposed to look like? But I can see that he'd be fun to have around."

"He is, and you're not the first to say that. Because of his beach boy look and his making fun of everything people underestimate him or don't take him seriously. He's a smart guy, he was a lawyer before he became a cop. That comes in handy in certain cases."

"I bet he's one of those people who switches from clown to dead serious in a second." She said with a smile. Callen grinned, nodding his head.

"Number four is Kensi, she joined the team a year before Deeks. She's one of the toughest people I know and one of the best agents. She's great undercover too, every undercover team needs a beautiful women." He told her with a smirk, thinking about their latest undercover op.

"So she's the one who has to flirt with the guys and walk around in skimpy dresses?" Joelle asked him, her tone indignant.

Callen shrugged. "It's part of the job, we all do what needs to be done. Besides we all tease each other with our undercover characters. Deeks often goes undercover as a homeless guy, living on the streets for days, I've spent weeks living in prison. Sam and I had to go undercover as a couple once, luckily that op didn't last long."

She raised her eyebrows. "A couple huh?"

"I'd rather not think about it anymore." He told her good naturedly.

Her face still showed her disagreement, he stopped moving his hand through her hair.

"Both Sam and I have been shot to maintain a cover. Sam has beaten me up and stuffed me in the trunk of his car numerous times as part of an undercover op. I'm usually the one being beaten up because I'm smaller, Kensi is the one seducing men because she's a women. We all do what we do best. I don't like seeing perverts eying her up but they often underestimate her because of her looks. If that keeps her safe or gives her an advantage, I'm not complaining."

They were silent for a bit as Joelle processed what he'd told her.

"You care a lot about her don't you?"

"Yeah I do, I care a lot about the whole team, not just those in the field. But Kensi's a bit like a younger sister. I'd do anything to protect her." He told her full of conviction.

He pushed himself to be more open with her and it surprised him how easy that came to him. He found that he liked telling her about his family and that he wasn't afraid to show her how he felt about them. She pulled him out of his thoughts by grabbing and squeezing his hand that wasn't in her hair. She looked at him seriously before speaking.

"We're all very lucky to have you in our lives."

Her words stunned him and he didn't know how to respond. He finally raised their hands to place a kiss on her knuckles before resuming to stroke her hair.

"Nell and Eric take care of the technical side of things. We often call them the wonder twins. Apparently Nell has the highest IQ of anyone working at NCIS."

Joelle raised her eyebrows at this and smiled slightly. He was grateful that she didn't comment on his lack of response to her statement. He smiled back as he continued to tell her about Nell and Eric.

"They're great with computers and they are our eyes and ears when we're out in the field. We definitely wouldn't be able to do most of what we do without them. Nell comes in the field with us sometimes if we need an extra field agent."

"Oke, so you have the fields agents and the techs. I'm guessing there's a team leader?"

"Well, I'm team leader. But Hetty's the one who really runs things, she's the operations manager."

"Wow, team leader huh?" She grinned at him. "I'm getting more and more impressed."

Callen didn't look her in the eye, she let him squirm a bit before taking pity on him. "So tell me about Hetty."

The smile her name brought on his face was the biggest she'd ever seen there. And it was immediately clear to her how much Hetty must mean to him.

"Henrietta Lange" he spoke the name reverently. "Her name strikes fear in almost anyone who's met or heard of her, criminals and drug lords as well as anyone in law enforcement. She's a legend and one of the last surviving warriors who fought in the Cold War. She's tiny, loves tea and she's more like our mother than our operations manager."

There was a pause before Joelle once again said "Wow".

"Yeah, she's something else." Callen replied, laughing. He went on, seeing in her face that she wanted to ask him more about Hetty, but not yet willing to tell her more about her or their relationship.

"That's the main team. Lately Granger has worked with us on a couple of cases. He's an ex-marine and he's now NCIS's assistant director. I'm not too sure about him, though Hetty seems to trust him until a certain extent. He's serious and secretive, I don't think I've ever seen him smile."

To his surprise Joelle snorted when he finished telling him about the team. "I can't wait to meet them now. They sound like one of the strangest combinations of people imaginable."

"Oh we are" Callen told her jokingly "we definitely are."


	3. Chapter 3

**Here in the Netherlands we've got a thing called veterstrikdiploma which translates to shoe lacing diploma. I don't know if it's something kids can get elsewhere in the world but here it's a diploma that kids can get at school around 5 or 6 years old get when they can tie their shoelaces by themselves. I thought it'd be fun to incorporate it into this one-shot. I'm not completely happy with how this turned out, I hope you guys enjoy it anyway and the next chapter will be better.**

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 **Callen has dinner with the Hannah's after being beaten up by Sam (S3 "Partners)**

"Sam" Callen all but whined the name.

"No discussion G. She said you have to come over for dinner, so you're coming." Sam told him from the driver's seat.

Sensing that Callen was going to protest he continued talking. "You're going to let her patch you up, don't even bother with the excuses. She cares about you G. That's what family does."

His tone signalled the end of the discussion and Callen didn't feel up to challenging him. He wasn't joking when he told Sam that he could've pulled his punches a bit. He understood why Sam had to hit him like he did and didn't resent him for it but _damn_ had it hurt. He hadn't even been able to stop from bending over, gasping for breath and falling to his knees after they'd taken down the bad guys. Now, several hours later, on the way to Sam and Michelle's place, everything hurt. He could feel the bruises forming on his face and all over his chest and abdomen.

When they arrived at the Hanna household, about fifteen minutes later, Callen tried to get in a deep breath without hurting his ribs too much. He winced before breathing out deeply and struggling to get out of the car. His muscles felt stiff after sitting still for a while and he was thankful, but surprised, when Sam didn't comment on his less then graceful exit of the car. They walked to the front door in silence and it opened just as they got there. Michelle gave them a warm smile before looking Callen up and down and tutting, shaking her head in a "what did you do now?" kind of way. Callen gave her what he hoped was a charming smile but her disapproving look told him she wasn't fooled in the slightest.

Sam who'd watched their exchange snorted.

"Told you G." He simply said before clapping him on the back. Callen couldn't help but notice that he did this slightly gentler than he normally would.

"Uncle Callen!" Came a yell from down the hall and Kamran came running to the door.

Callen let out a soft "Oompff" as Kamran collided with him. He recovered quickly, not letting her know how much her 'hug' hurt him as he picked her up off the floor.

"Banana-Hanna" He grinned as he squeezed her sides, making her squeal with laughter and wiggle in his hold. He stopped quickly, realising that it was a bad idea. As she calmed down and looked at his face her expression turned slightly confused.

"Uncle Callen, did you fall?" She asked him before carefully touching the butterfly strip above his eyebrow and then his lip.

Callen playfully bit her finger, making her laugh.

"Yeah, I tripped over my own shoelaces and I fell. Pretty clumsy huh? That's why you've always got to tie them properly." He told her in a sing-song voice.

She nodded enthusiastically, her whole body moving in his grip. "I've been practicing! I'll show you uncle Callen. I'll tie your shoelaces properly for you."

Callen put her down and just managed to receive a kiss on the cheek from Michelle in passing as Kamran dragged him down the hallway towards the living room.

Last week Kamran had told him excitedly that she was learning to tie her own shoelaces and that they would have an exam at school to get a shoe lacing diploma. Like a true Hanna she'd attacked this challenge with fierce determination and she'd been practicing every day.

Fifteen minutes later she'd tied the laces on both of his shoes perfectly. Callen had had to hold in his laugh as she'd stuck out her tongue in concentration. Michelle and Sam walked in sometime later, Michelle carrying the first aid kit and announcing that dinner would be ready in half an hour. Sam took Kamran to go play outside, leaving Callen behind with Michelle.

"Shirt off" Michelle told him, motioning him over to a chair. Callen sighed, knowing that there was no other way to get her off his back than to indulge en let her patch him up. He sat down and she inspected his chest, prodding his ribs to check if none were broken. She didn't speak as she walked away and Callen waited patiently until she returned with two ice packs, a glass of water and some pills. She handed him the water and pills. "Take these"

He took them without argument and winced as she pressed the ice packs to his chest. He finally looked down at his chest to see the damage as she grabbed his hands and pressed them on the ice packs. The bruises were even more impressive than he'd expected, going from his lower stomach until just above his midriff.

Michelle studied his face before breaking a small leaf off of the aloë vera plant on the coffee table. Callen knew she was up to something, whether she was going to tell him off for something or she wanted to have a serious talk he did not know. This made him nervous though, she scares him almost as much as Hetty.

"Your teddy bear packs quite the punch" Callen finally joked, breaking the silence. She held his jaw and checked out the cut on the side of his lip as she spoke.  
"You know, he feels guilty for doing this to you."

Callen tried to protest but she didn't give him the chance as she held his jaw firmly. He narrowed his eyes, realising that she'd waited to speak when he wouldn't be able to talk back. She directed more attention onto pressing the juice from the leaf onto the cut on his lip than needed as she spoke again.

"I know what you're going to say G. That he doesn't need to be, that it's part of the job. Maybe even that you've had _much_ worse. None of these things make it any easier, especially not on Sam. He's different."

Callen knew she was referring to the fact that Sam was and always would be a SEAL at heart. Michelle and Callen connected on a level, as agents, that Sam had trouble understanding.

"But different or not, seeing the people that we love in pain is one of the hardest and most _painful_ things we could ever go through. And intentionally being the reason for their pain makes it so much worse."

She put down the leaf and brought both her hands up to his face, framing it and making sure that he looked her in the eye.

"We love you G, we all do. You're family and we don't like to see you hurt. I know that deep down you know that too. Just to be sure though, we'll keep reminding you." She told him with a soft smile before wrapping her arms around him in an uncharacteristically motherly hug.

They had all enjoyed the lovely dinner that Michelle had cooked for them and were now sitting around the coffee table in the living room playing rummikub. Kamran again had her tongue out in concentration and the grownups shared a smile while she concentrated on the tiles on the table. Callen felt content and blessed to be there as he looked around at the little family. After another game it was time for Kamran to go to bed and she gave Callen and Sam a goodnight hug and kiss before her mother led her upstairs to bed.

Sam got up and went into the kitchen and Callen switched on the tv and grabbed the controller, finding them something to watch. When Sam came back he sat down on the sofa besides Callen, passing him his beer and putting his feet up. They were silent for a minute before Sam looked at him seriously.

"You good?"

"No need to worry about me big guy. I'll be just fine."

Sam hesitated before offering him the couch to sleep on, just like he'd done a hundred times before, obviously expecting him to decline again.

"Alright I'll stay here, as long as you make pancakes in the morning." Callen smiled a genuine smile. He knew that being able to keep an eye on him and making sure he ate a good breakfast would lessen Sam's worrying. That's the least he could do.

"Deal"


	4. Chapter 4

**Hiya guys! I'm much happier with this chapter than I was with the last one. It's long and something very different, it's Nell/OC friendship + the team. I always love reading stories where characters are seen from an outsiders' pov. I think I'll probably do some more stories centered around that theme.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

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 **Nell/OC/team Friendship**

Nel, like Kensi, had tried to maintain some friendships from before she worked for NCIS. All of the secrecy surrounding their jobs made it hard. It would've been easier if she could just tell her friends that she had a job which she couldn't tell them anything about rather than having to lie to them.

The team was wrapping up a case late in the evening when Nel got a text from one of her oldest and best friends Cheryl.

 _Nelly! How's life in sunny LA?_

Nel had to smile when she read the message, making Eric look at her curiously.

"Who's that?" He asked in what she recognised as his forced offhand kind of voice.

She grinned at him. "It's my friend Cheryl from back home. You know the one with the cat that had kittens?"

He nodded, remembering when Nell had excitedly showed him pictures of the kittens the day they were born and how Cheryl would send new pictures every day to show how much they were growing.

 _Life's all good! Busy at work, as always. I'm just finishing up now, can't wait to have a nice hot bath later. Skype when I get home?_

Nell got a reply within seconds.

 _Deal!_

Nell quickly finished her report and grabbed her things.

"We haven't spoken in a couple of weeks so I'm going home to skype her. Are you finished?" She asked Eric.

"I'm going to stay a little bit longer, see you tomorrow!"

Nell drove home quickly, parked and ran up the stairs to her apartment on the second floor. She was excited about talking to Cheryl and thinking about all the things she had to tell her. When she was almost at her door someone came running at her from a side corridor, squealing.

"NELLY!" She saw a flurry of brown and green before being enveloped in a tight hug.

"Cheryl!" Nell gasped when she finally got over the shock of someone surprising her, not even really registering yet that her friend was here in LA.

"Surprise!" Cheryl finally released her, a massive grin on her face.

"Wow, it certainly is." Nell held a hand over her heart, trying to get it to stop beating so fast.

Cheryl looked uncertain for a moment. "Bad timing?"

Nell had to smile at her. "Nah, you just surprised me. Come in, I've got so much to tell you!"

A couple of hours later they were both sitting cross legged on the king sized bed with a glass of red wine.

"So enough about me and about work." Cheryl told her in a business like voice. "How's Eric?"

"Cheryl" Nell said embarrassedly, pushing her shoulder.

"Hey, you're the one that's always talking about him." She gasped and her eyes widened. "Can I meet him?" She was practically bouncing on the bed in excitement.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Nell told her apprehensively.

"Why not? I'm here now. You fancy him. Why shouldn't I meet him? Are you afraid that I'm going to tell him about that one time with Chase Miller?" She smirked, knowing how to rile her friend up.

"That's exactly why. I knew I shouldn't have told you about him."

"You love me and you know it." Cheryl told her, smirk still in place. "So how about this weekend? We can go to the beach. He surfs right?"

"Alright, alright. I'll ask him tomorrow." Nell pretended to be persuaded, in truth she didn't need much persuading at all. Any excuse to spend more time with Eric was a good one. Her thoughts must have shown on her face because Cheryl snorted at her expression and then they both fell back on the bed in fits of laughter.

The next morning Nell and Cheryl had breakfast together at Nell's favourite local brasserie and Nell left her with a spare key before going to work, arriving a little later than usual. They had a new case immediately, this one particularly gruesome and it left two young children parentless. The case wrapped up unusually quickly but it was one of those that left an impression on everyone. It was almost 8 when Nell and Eric descended the stairs into the bullpen where the others were packing their things as well.

"I think" Kensi said with a pause "we could all use a drink tonight."

"I think you're right Kens, it's been a while since we've all been out. Callen, Sam, you in?" Deeks asked.

Callen and Sam shared a look, Callen shrugged and Sam agreed for them.

"I'm going to go get changed first though, see you guys there?"

As usual the killer had put up a fight and both Sam and Callen had multiple blood stains on their clothes.

"Ok" Kensi said before turning to Eric and Nell. "Are you guys coming?"

Nell bit her lip and Eric looked at her, waiting for her reply. It had been a long time since they'd all gone out together and she could really use a drink but Cheryl was waiting at home for her.

"I'm sorry guys, I've got a friend over from back home."

"Why don't you bring Cheryl along?" Eric suggested.

"Cheryl? Isn't she the one with the kittens?" Kensi asked. At Nell's nod she continued. "She's one of your oldest friends, I'd like to meet her."

Nell still wasn't convinced. "We wouldn't be able to talk openly. She thinks Eric and I work as tv news editors."

"Maybe that's a good thing. We can all go out and relax without talking about work." Callen jumped in.

"Alright then, she'll be really excited to meet all of you. I'll go pick her up and we'll see you guys there."

While driving home Nell tried not to think about all the possible things that could go wrong. Cheryl talked a lot and was very curious and smart. The team were all experts on becoming their cover, except Eric. She was just worried that a relaxed atmosphere, with alcohol, would make someone slip up. She told herself again not to worry and started looking forward to some downtime with friends from both of her lives, NCIS and outside of NCIS.

When she opened the front door Cheryl was already waiting for her on the sofa. Nell threw open her arms.

"Surprise! We're going out for drinks with some of my colleagues."

"Yes! I finally get to meet Eric, and will Kensi be there?" Cheryl asked her excitedly as she jumped up from the sofa.

"Yep Kensi and Eric will be there and Callen, Sam and Deeks too. I haven't told you about them but you'll meet them in a bit anyway."

"When are we leaving?"

"Now, if you're ready."

"I need to get changed first!"

"Cher, we're not going clubbing, it's just drinks after a long day of work." Nell told her but it was no use, Cheryl had already taken off towards the bedroom. She smiled fondly and followed her.

Fifteen minutes later they were sitting in the car, on their way to the usual bar that the team would go to for drinks after work. Cheryl couldn't sit still and kept asking questions about everyone. Nell kept fending off her questions, telling her she'd see everyone soon enough.

"What do the others do at the company? Is there going to be a complete film crew?"

Nell sighed "Cher, we've all had a long day at work, the point of going out for drinks is to relax and not talk about work."

She could see Cheryl think and was relieved when they arrived at the parking lot two blocks from the bar. She didn't think that she could hold off Cheryl's questions any longer without her getting suspicious. They parked and got out of the car, walking towards the exit of the parking lot and chatting. Nell did a little twirl as she clicked her car key, locking the doors. She was halfway through her twirl, facing Cheryl, when someone slammed into her back. The force of it threw her into Cheryl and both of them onto the asphalt. Nell clasped her hand around her car keys as they fell and simultaneously tucked in her arms and rolled to the side, thus avoiding landing on Cheryl but not avoiding hitting her head on the floor. She rolled away from their attacker and stood up, facing him in almost one smooth motion. Almost. She wobbled slightly as she got to her feet her vision unclear for a moment before focussing on her attacker.

He was about a foot taller than her with a muscular frame, that's all she could see as he was dressed completely in black and a baseball cap and black hoodie cast shadows over his face.

"Give me the keys and your wallets." He growled out in a deep voice.

Rationally Nell knew that the wisest thing would be to hand over their things and leave. However, her training and all of the experiences she had from watching the field team on screen made that feel like the most unnatural and _wrong_ decision. When she didn't comply immediately he took a quick step towards her and instinct took over. She grabbed his shoulders and brought her knee up to his groin with as much force as she could. Nell heard Cheryl scream as her assailant brought his leg up sideways, blocking her hit and grabbed her arms. She struggled as he tried to twist them behind her back, yanking the keys from her hand, snapping one of her fingers in the process. Nell clenched her teeth in pain, continuing to struggle even though her head was now swimming.

"Federal agents, let her go!" She'd never been happier to hear Sam's voice. Cheryl let out another scream and in a split second her attacker had swirled them around to face Sam and Callen and pulled out a knife, holding it against her neck. It became harder and harder to see Callen and Sam clearly, even with all the adrenalin rushing through her.

"Right now you'll only be guilty of attempted robbery and assault. You don't want to add murder to that list." Callen's warning sounded like it was coming from far away as her vision blurred further.

"Nell" Sam's voice pulled her back to the present and she tried to focus on his outline.

Her attacker's voice rang out next to her ear a moment later.

"Back off or she dies."

"There's no way out of this for you. You either surrender or you die." Callen told him coldly.

"I'd do as he says, my partner over there is a great shot." Deeks had appeared next to Cheryl on one side of them and Kensi on the other, having a clear shot.

"Your choice." Kensi added.

Nell slowly felt the pressure of the knife leave her neck and her attacker's hands release her. When she was sure the knife was gone she stumbled forward, Sam, who was closest, wrapped his arms around her and led her a few steps away. When she looked back Kensi was already zip tying his hands behind his back. She'd have to remember to ask Kensi if she always carried those on her.

Not now though. Now she felt like she was going to be sick and tried to stumble away from the others. Sam wouldn't let go of her and supported her until they were in a corner of the parking lot and he held her hair back as she threw up. Nell rumbled through her bag until she found some tissues and used them to clean herself up.

She turned to Sam, already embarrassed about her actions and throwing up. "I'm sorry."

Sam had started to reply when she whirled around and he had to steady her again. "Where's Cheryl?" Nell looked around frantically, trying to find her friend.

Sam led her over to where Deeks was squatting in front of Cheryl, who was still on the floor where she had landed. He was talking to her calmly and checking her for injuries. "Nell!" She jumped up as soon as she saw Nell and Sam approach. Running to her and carefully wrapping her arms around her friend.

"Are you alright?" Nell asked her.

"Am I alright? You're the one that fought a guy with a knife." She cried out in exasperation.

Eric chose that moment to come running towards them, he looked extremely worried and stopped in front of Nell, looking her over, checking for injuries before wrapping her in a gentle but desperate hug. When he finally released her she patted him on the chest before looking for a place to sit down. When she didn't find one she sat down on the asphalt with Sam's help. She could hear the others talking somewhere above her.

"Callen, I've called the LAPD, they'll be here in about 5 minutes."

"Thanks Eric. Deeks, go help Kensi and talk to the LAPD. I'll call Hetty." Callen said before walking away. Eric didn't take his eyes off of Nell and hovered over Sam, staying as close by as possible.

Nell felt more than saw Cheryl sit down next to her. Sam was carefully running his hands over her head, feeling if there were any cuts of bumps.

"Tell me when it hurts."

She hissed as his hands went over a spot on the side of her head. He carefully inspected it but couldn't find a wound.

"There's no wound, I'm sure you'll have a spectacular bump there tomorrow though."

He sat back on his heels and studied her face, there was a deep cut on the side of her left eyebrow.

"Soon you'll have a scar next to both of your eyebrows." He told her gently with a hint of humour.

"At least they'll match." She replied with a feeble smile.

He got his phone out of his pocket, unlocking the screen and moving it in front of her face.

"Follow the light for me Nell." She did as she was told, squinting because of the brightness.

"You've got a concussion. Does it hurt anywhere else?"

Nell took a moment to move the different parts of her body, cataloguing pains and aches before hissing as she tried to move her fingers. She placed her tiny hand in his big one that was resting on her knee and was both surprised and shocked to see her ring finger bent at an unnatural angle and already swelling up.

Eric's face appeared above Sam's shoulder and he gasped. "Nell, that looks really bad."  
"We're going to need some ice." Eric just stared at Nell's hand in horror. "Eric!"

"Right, Ice. On it!" He said before running off towards the street.

Sam turned to Cheryl, still carefully holding Nell's hand in one of his and extending the other to Cheryl.

"I'm Sam Hanna, you must be Cheryl."

Cheryl nodded, clearly still shocked and now also confused about the whole situation. Nell could almost see the clogs turning in her head, trying to process what was going on.

"I saw Deeks already checked you for injuries. Are you alright?"

She nodded again before finally finding her voice. "Yeah I'm fine, just a couple of scratches."

Nell spoke up. "I'm so sorry Cher, I should've just given him what he wanted."

"It wasn't your fault that he attacked us." She objected.

"I know, but I shouldn't have fought him. I knew that I shouldn't but he came towards me and I just reacted."

Sam squeezed her good hand as Callen appeared beside them. "You did good Nell. You reacted on instinct and you see us in the field so much, it was bound to rub off on you." Callen told her in a firm tone.

Eric came running towards them with a bag of ice, his flip-flops announcing his arrival.

"I've got the ice." He said, holding the bag out for Sam.

Nell jumped slightly as Cheryl gasped loudly beside her. She had an almost comical expression of both shock and exasperation on her face. She raised her hand, pointing at Sam, Eric and Callen.

"Sam, Callen and Eric." She spoke slowly, before spinning around to face Nell.

"These are your colleagues? What the… What the… But you work for a news company!"

Nell looked over at Callen desperately. This was exactly what she'd wanted to avoid. What now?

"We're federal agents and work for a special undercover branch of NCIS. Therefore we keep covers in our private lives as well. That's why Nell couldn't tell you about her real job. You weren't supposed to find out but now you did we have to ask you to keep this a secret." Callen told Cheryl, his tone making it clear that this was a serious matter.

Cheryl gaped at him before looking at Nell. Several moments later she finally seemed to process what was going on.

"Well, this explains a lot." She took a deep breath before facing the others. "Nice to meet you all. And thank you for saving us. It's lucky that you were with us so quickly."

"That wasn't luck. That was our superstar." Eric said proudly, grinning at Nell.

Deeks and Kensi approached them with an LAPD officer.

"Yeah Nellster, I don't know how you managed to type in your Agent in Distress code whilst fighting off an attacker but that is freaking awesome." Deeks told her.

Kensi introduced herself to Cheryl and introduced the officer with her.

"He's going to ask you guys a couple of quick questions and then we'll take you to the hospital.

When they'd told the LAPD officer everything Sam took the ice off of Nell's hand and inspected it. He helped her and Cheryl up and passed the ice to Nell.

"Why don't you two go ahead and get in your car Nell, one of us will drive you to the hospital." Sam told her.

"I'll drive you guys, here" Kensi said, giving her her keys back and a bottle of water each. "I'll be right there."

They walked to the car, Nell was still a bit unsteady so Cheryl held an arm around her shoulders. They both got in the back and closed the doors. The sudden silence seemed very loud to Nell and she looked over at Cheryl who was watching the team talking with the LAPD from the window.

"That's so hot." Cheryl finally blurted out, looking over at Nell. She rambled on, interrupting Nell's reply.

"I know that it's all dangerous and this was a bad situation. I'm so glad that you're alright. But my god, that is hot. I can't believe you kept your job and your _gorgeous_ colleagues a secret from me."

"Cheryl!"

"What?! Look at Sam! He is one sexy beast!" She exclaimed. "My god, what must be under that shirt." She continued, speaking more to herself.

"Ew Cher! He's married! And he's got kids."

Cheryl sighed. "That is one lucky woman."

Nell threw her good hand up in the air in exasperation.

"Tell me why we are friends again?"

"Because you love me." Cheryl told her with a smile before she put her arms around Nell and rested her head against hers.

"I'm glad you're alright."

Nell closed her eyes, hugging her back. "Me too."

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you think. If you have any requests or suggestions, please let me know!**


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